When A Child Is Sent Home Sick

Illness in the Daycare Environment

Daycare is a close and personal environment for young children. Throughout the day, children interact closely with one another and with the provider. Because of this constant contact, when a child shows signs of illness or concerning symptoms, it is important to take precautions to prevent illness from spreading.

Even a single illness can quickly affect multiple children, several families, and the daycare provider. For this reason, it is essential that we approach health concerns in the daycare with care, diligence, and caution.

A Common Challenge in Childcare

Illness in daycare settings is one of the most common and sometimes challenging issues between parents and childcare providers. Young children naturally get sick more often as their immune systems develop, and this can create difficult situations for families when a parent must stay home from work.

Parents understandably have different perspectives when it comes to illness. Some families prefer to be very cautious—often because there may be infants, elderly relatives, or immunocompromised individuals in their circle. Others may feel that mild symptoms, such as a runny nose, are not a cause for concern.

However, in a group childcare setting, decisions must be made with all children, families, and the provider in mind, not just one child.

When Children Are Sent Home

The most common reason a child is sent home is the presence of a fever along with other symptoms, such as:

Runny nose
Cough
Rash
Unusual or changed behaviour

A fever is defined as a temperature of 38°C (100.4°F) or higher.

Occasionally, parents may question the decision to have their child picked up when symptoms appear. Some may feel that a runny nose or mild fever is not significant enough to require exclusion from daycare. However, these symptoms often indicate the early stages of illness, and allowing a sick child to remain in daycare increases the risk of spreading illness to others.

Another common explanation parents give is that symptoms are due to teething. While teething can sometimes cause slight discomfort or a very small increase in body temperature, there is no scientific evidence that teething causes a true fever. Teething may raise a child’s temperature slightly, but it does not typically reach the level considered a fever.

Additionally, symptoms like a persistent runny nose require constant care and hygiene measures. A child with a runny nose needs frequent wiping, and germs can easily spread through surfaces, toys, and contact with other children. What may appear to be a mild symptom can quickly lead to illness among several children in the group.

Simply put, daycare is not an appropriate place for sick children. When children are unwell, they are best cared for at home.

How Illness Decisions Are Made

The decision to ask a parent to pick up their child due to illness is never made lightly. We carefully assess the situation based on what we observe.

This includes:

Taking the child’s temperature multiple times to confirm a fever
Observing their behaviour and overall condition
Noting any additional symptoms
Considering the health status of other children in the daycare

Because we see the children every day, we become very familiar with their usual behaviour and can often recognize when something seems “off.”

Patterns in the daycare are also considered. For example, if several children are already home sick and another child arrives with symptoms such as fever or coughing, it may indicate that a virus is circulating within the group. In these situations, precautionary action is necessary to prevent further spread.

Taking preventative measures helps ensure that:

Healthy children can continue attending daycare
Other families are not unnecessarily exposed to illness
The daycare provider does not become ill
The daycare can remain open for everyone

It is also unfair to place the responsibility of caring for a sick child on the provider while exposing the rest of the group to illness.

Our Sickness Policies

To ensure clarity and fairness, we have established detailed Sickness Policies that all parents review and agree to when signing the parent-provider agreement.

These policies cover topics such as:

Illness outbreaks
Siblings and household illness
Symptoms requiring removal from daycare
Required exclusion periods before returning

We ask all families to carefully review and follow these policies so that we can maintain a healthy and safe environment for all children.

An Important Reminder

Please understand that toddlers may not have a constant fever. In many cases, a child’s temperature may spike temporarily, return to normal, and then rise again later as other symptoms develop. During this early stage of illness, the child may already be contagious.

For this reason, an abundance of caution is necessary. If your child is sent home due to symptoms, the decision is made with careful consideration and with the health of the entire daycare community in mind.

Our goal is to prevent illness from spreading, protect all families involved, and avoid situations where the daycare must close entirely due to widespread illness.

Parent Responsibility

Bringing a sick child to daycare can affect multiple families and the daycare provider. Parents must be prepared to make arrangements to stay home or find alternative care if their child is unwell.

If the daycare provider determines that a child is too sick or potentially contagious to remain in care, that decision is final and not open to debate. We will clearly communicate the symptoms, temperature readings, or concerns that led to the decision.

We kindly ask parents to focus on what matters most—caring for their child and allowing them time to recover at home before returning to daycare.